Using cooking wine in recipes is a simple way to enhance the flavor of any dish. Found on grocery store shelves, cooking wine is just that – wine made for cooking. Use it like you would a seasoning in recipes where you want to add more flavor.
“Many people don’t realize how easy it is to use cooking wine,” says Rita Held, culinary professional. “Whether I’m making a sauce, marinade or saute, cooking wine is my go-to ingredient for creating more robust flavor.”
Everyone can add more flavor to a variety of dishes this season with these simple tips from Held.
• Instead of sauteing vegetables, fish, shrimp, scallops or chicken in heaps of butter or oil, saute them in a smaller amount of oil plus cooking wine for added flavor and moisture with half the calories.
• Don’t have the time to make a pasta sauce from scratch? Instead of adding garlic or salt, add a splash of cooking wine to jarred sauce for a bolder flavor.-
• Cooking wine gives seafood simple, delicious flavor. Marinate shrimp and scallops in white with lemon cooking wine for simple yet savory flavor. Marinate fish fillets in sake cooking wine for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce the fishiness flavor.
• Marinate cheaper, less-tender cuts of beef in red cooking wine for 24 hours to boost flavor and tenderize. Drain and then cook as desired. Flank steak is delicious when marinated overnight in a mixture of red cooking wine, soy sauce and minced garlic.
• Swirl sherry or Marsala cooking wine into creamy soups to add a delicious nutty flavor. Since cooking wine contains one teaspoon of salt per cup, add it anywhere you need more flavor and reduce the amount of salt.
New to using cooking wine? Try this delicious recipe for Creamy Marsala Spaghetti Sauce for a unique twist on traditional Bolognaise.
Creamy Marsala Spaghetti Sauce
Prep time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup Holland House Marsala Cooking Wine
2 1/2teaspoons parsley
2 carrots, shredded or finely chopped
1 cup mushrooms, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1tablespoon olive oil
1tablespoon oregano
1 can (29 ounces) tomato sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup half-and-half or cream
Directions:
In a frying pan over low heat, gently and slowly cook hamburger with 1/4 cup of the cooking wine and 1 1/2 teaspoons of parsley.
Chop the carrots, mushrooms, garlic and onion, and add to an 8-quart pot with the olive oil. Saute the veggies until soft (about 2 minutes) and then add remaining parsley and oregano. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of cooking wine to the pot and gently simmer for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and sugar. Stir and gently simmer over low heat for at least 20 minutes or for up to an hour. Drain the meat and add it to the pot. Finish with half-and-half or cream, stirring until combined.
Prepare your favorite pasta according to packet instructions and stir the sauce into the drained noodles. Serve.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
For additional recipes and tips on how to use cooking wine, visit Holland House on Facebook at Facebook.com/HollandHouseProducts.
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